Amplitude-Integrated Electroencephalography: It's Not Just for Babies

aEEG as a useful tool for neuromonitoring in critically ill children - Current evidence and knowledge gaps

AIM

Amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) is used in children beyond neonatal age, but systematic investigations have been lacking. This mini-review summarised aEEG studies on children aged one month to 18 years, evaluated the usefulness of aEEG and identified knowledge gaps or limitations.

METHODS

We searched the PubMed database for articles published in English up to September 2020, and 23 papers were identified.

RESULTS

aEEG was frequently used to compensate for the absence of continuous full-channel EEG monitoring, particularly for detecting seizures. Interpreting background patterns was based on neonatal classifications, as reference values for older infants and children are lacking. It is possible that aEEG could predict outcomes after paediatric cardiac arrests and other conditions. Gaps in our knowledge exist with regard to normal values in healthy children and the effects of sedation on aEEG background patterns in children.

CONCLUSION

The main application of aEEG was detecting and treating paediatric seizures. Further research should determine reference values and investigate the potential to predict outcome after critical events or in acute neurological disease. It is likely that aEEG will play a role in paediatric critical care in the future.

Early Diagnosis of Brain Injury in Premature Infants Based on Amplitude-Integrated EEG Scoring System

Analyzing and discussing the relationship between brain injury in preterm infants and related risk factors can provide evidence for perinatal prevention and early intervention of brain injury in preterm infants, thereby improving the quality of life of preterm infants. This paper selects term preterm infants diagnosed with preterm infant asphyxia in the NICU of a university's First Affiliated Hospital from January 2018 to February 2019 as the research object. In addition, healthy term infants born at the same time in the obstetric department of this hospital are selected as the control group. Both groups of premature infants were monitored for brain function within 6 hours after birth. The aEEG results range from background activity (continuous normal voltage, discontinuous normal voltage, burst suppression, continuous low voltage, and plateau) and sleep-wake cycle (no sleep-wake cycle, immature, and mature sleep-wake cycle) to epileptic activity (single seizures, recurrent seizures, and status epilepticus), three aspects to judge. Statistical analysis uses SPSS 17.0 software. Amplitude-integrated EEG is a simplified form of continuous EEG recording. The trace of the trace represents the voltage change signal of the entire EEG background activity, which can reflect the EEG amplitude, frequency, burst-inhibition, and other pieces of information. aEEG can reflect the degree of HIE lesions in premature infants and the long-term prognosis. It is easy to operate and effective in diagnosis and can be continuously monitored. It is worthy of clinical popularization. There is a good correlation between the expression of EEG and biomarkers. Combining multiple methods can diagnose HIE earlier and evaluate the prognosis.